Friday 55

Welcome to Friday 55. The object of the game is to write a story using exactly 55 words. If you participate, be sure to drop a comment at G-Man’s blog so others will know how to find your story.



As I knelt before the cool blue waters, with my hand extended, I caught the image of my face staring back at me. My attention came to rest upon my eyes. It was then I realized that just as the pond held a reflection of my face, my eyes held a reflection of my soul.

A Meme

I stole borrowed this meme from Lime

Start with your name:
I’ve had so many, but you can call me James

If your ex REALLY needed you at 3 am, would you go to his/her house?
Well, that would depend on the circumstances. Since we had a child together if the emergency pertained to my son, then absolutely, if not, I imagine I wouldn’t be the first person she would call.

When was the last time you wanted to punch someone in their face?
Well, just this morning as a matter of fact, thankfully it is hard to hit someone over the phone.

What are the last three things you spent money on?
Fuel for the boat
Ice for the cooler
Beer for the party

What was the last thing you cried about?
The loss of my nephew

Could you go a day without eating?
Can and have. I don’t recommend it if it can be avoided.

Have you ever kissed anyone whose name started with a J?
Hell, I done more than kiss them, lol.

Do you smoke weed regularly?
Uh… no. Drugs are bad mmkay?

Drugs are bad?
That’s what I said. I was known to experiment from time to time in my misspent youth, but I’ve just seen to many lives torn asunder by drugs. Just say no!

Has anyone ever told you they're in love with you?
Yes, and I’m eternally grateful for that.

When was the last time you were disappointed?
Well, this morning during the phone call that made me want to punch some poor dolt in the face.

Has a girl ever seriously punched you?
When I was a punk kid, not only did one punch me, she stabbed me for beating the crap out of her boyfriend.

What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
Lunch.

Have you kissed two different people in one night?
Yes, yes I have.

Is it easy for others to make you feel awkward?
No, I’m pretty much a roll with the flow kind of guy.

In the past week have you felt stupid?
Of course, if you don’t do something wrong once in a while, you are obviously not doing anything at all.

Have you ever been outside completely naked?
Yeah, recently. I like to howl at the moon.

What would happen if you had a baby with the last person you kissed?
Well, as I can no longer have children, there would be a lot of explaining to do.

Who did you text the most yesterday?
I don’t text.

What were you doing at 10pm Friday night?
Watching a slideshow from an Alaskan cruise.

What are your plans for today?
Writing, working, cuddling up with the mrs.

Could you go the rest of your life without smoking a cigarette?
I’d like to think so, but I wouldn’t know until I tried.

What was the last reason you went to the doctor?
I’ve been so many times over the last few years, but oddly enough the last time was just for a minor shoulder injury.

What is the last thing you yelled aloud?
Oh, yeah…. Just like that!

What do you think of when you think of Australia?
Lyn Armstrong

What's one action you do when you're really nervous?
I’m a pacer and a bit of a blabber mouth, which is quite out of the norm for me.

Would you rather give up the computer or the TV?
TV hands down. I can’t work on my novels without a computer.

One word that explains perfectly how you feel at the moment?
Stancato

Do you care if people hate you for no reason?
I could give a rat’s ass as long as they aren’t in my face about it.

How hard is your life right now?
The world is my oyster.

Have you ever taken anyone for granted?
Not nearly as often as I’ve been taken for granted.

Weekend Recap

This is a better pace. I’m down to only having two active projects for my day job. I peaked at juggling eleven and to be honest, it nearly burnt me out. I managed to snag a promotion through the ordeal, so at least the efforts didn’t go unnoticed. I am officially an Engineering Project Manager now.

I am working from home all but one day this week and really looking forward to it. It seems that I get a lot more work done when I’m not onsite with a client. Fewer distractions would be the only reason I can come up with.

My wife, the poor soul, has started working a rotating shift at her job. She is the manager of catalyst development for a lab, but they have a rather important project come up and the owner asked everyone to go to twelve hour shifts to get the unit up and running. Of course, being a member of the management team she is own salary, so she gets to work her extra hours (including the night shifts) for free.

Thankfully, the schedule worked out to where she averages only forty two hours a week and she has guaranteed days off, which she didn’t have before. It was not uncommon for her to work eleven and twelve days straight before the shift work began.

Why do I bring this up? Well, she will be working the night shift starting Thursday this week and it is a four day jaunt. Yep, she will be working nights over the holiday weekend.

Speaking of weekends, ours was a blast. My wife was off for Friday and Saturday this week, so we made the best of it.

Friday my wife, son and I had a whirlwind Guitar Hero World Tour session. We had planned to go see a baseball game, but with the record heat wave, we decided against it. The heat index for that evening was still 106 F by seven o’clock that night.

Some of our dear friends had recently returned from an Alaskan cruise. So, we met them for dinner and proceeded to be regaled with tales of their adventures and I set up or PS3 to show the pictures they brought in a slideshow to watch while they told us of the trip.

Saturday we headed off to the lake. We had three boat loads full of people and a rocking good time. We had a boat designated for tubing, one for skiing and mine we used for wakeboarding and kneeboarding. Taking the occasional break, we tied all the boats together and just hung out in the middle of the lake.

After we were all good and baked, we loaded everyone up and came back to our house for another Guitar Hero World Tour marathon and some grilled steaks, sausages and hotlinks. A good time was had by all.

Sunday, I hung out at the house, while my wife sauntered off to work. My nephew stayed the night with us, so he and my son played video games while I smoothed the edges on a completed rough draft of a new novel.
Other than that, it was a fairly routine weekend. How did you spend yours?

Alive and Kicking

Is it just me or does time seem to be slipping away at an alarming rate? I hit me this morning that I haven’t updated this blog in quite some time. My day job has finally leveled out a bit, so you would think I would have more time for blogging. The funny thing is that with the onset of warm weather, I’m hardly ever home.

We’ve been spending a good deal of our free time at the lake. My wakeboarding skills were a little rusty at first, but I’m well on my way to completing my first aerial 360 this year. It is a rather tricky maneuver, as we have to gain some serious speed to give my rather large body enough lift to stay airborne long enough to complete the full circle. I figure the first real attempt will end one of two ways. Either I’ll be mostly successful, have my board hit the water first and wipe out or I will land at some odd angle and wind up back in the emergency room. It should be interesting either way.

Other than the lake time, we’ve filled our weekend evenings with cookouts, guitar hero parties, concerts, bike rallies and road trips. During the week, we’ve been hitting the gym, recovering from the weekend before and at least in my case, trying to squeeze in enough time to write on my various projects.

Speaking of writing, I’m currently working on four different books. One is a trilogy and in a weird twist of fate, I have the third installment all but complete, the second about three quarters of the way there, but I can’t submit any of them until I finish the first one, which is only about half way through. I’m not sure how I wound up so lopsided, but I guess the last book, drew me in quicker than the others. We’ll just have to see how it turns out. The other book I’m working on, has barely seen any screen time, but it is still in the works. It is a sequel to The Dance and I’m pretty excited about it.

Anyhoo, that is what’s going on in my life right now. How is everything in your world?

Friday 55

Welcome to Friday 55. The object of the exercise is to write a story using exactly 55 words. If you participate, be sure to drop a comment at G-Man’s blog so others will know how to find your story.



With a flick of the wrist, I induce a mighty rumble. The ground shakes, vibrations carry through my body. My left hand squeezes. The right one rotates up and down. My left foot kicks a lever and the beast is ready to be unleashed. I release her and we surge forward on the open road.

Dar-Wednesday

It’s time for another installment of The Darwin Awards.


(27 December 2008, Serbia) 23-year-old Strahinja Raseta was wanted by Croatian police for murder, as well as for a spectacular robbery of a central post office. He fled to Serbia to evade the law.


But even bad guys have friends. Raseta had a friend, and his friend had lent him E15,000. Some loans can never be repaid. This was such a loan. Finding himself unable to earn or steal the funds needed to reimburse his friend, Raseta attempted to end the matter in another way--by murdering the lender!


He crawled under his creditor's Jeep and planted an explosive. However, the muffler was still hot, and the heat set off the explosive while Raseta was beneath the vehicle. He died in hospital the next day in the Serbian capital city of Belgrade, illustrating the truth of the Shakespearean adage, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be."

Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend.
Shakespeare (Lord Polonius, in Hamlet)

A Rant of Sorts...

I wonder what the world has in store for us or where I place will be in it in the future. There is no doubt the economy has been in crisis for quite some time. Have we seen the worst of it? Crime is rising almost as fast as the unemployment rate. The cost of living is going up and the average family income is going down. I still see signs of prosperity, but they are always overshadowed by stories of family struggling just to get by.

Sure, the government has tried to step in to turn everything around, but is it really working or is it just a really expensive band-aid with poor adhesive? Of course this help won’t come without a price. It’s a price we won’t likely have to pay, but the U.S. has put itself into such a deep financial hole, we may not recover fully in my life time. I truly feel sorry for our kids and grandkids that will have to shoulder the brunt of this burden. Well, if we survive as a country that is. We have weakened ourselves to the point that it is no longer out of the question that America could fall victim to a hostile takeover without a single bullet being fired. We are corporate America and I think we’ve all seen examples of one corporation buying another’s debts to bend them to their will. How long before someone tries to put a leash on the mighty giant?

I look at my son and I wonder if he will have the same opportunities I’ve had. Will he have the same freedoms I enjoy? Will his world be a better place than mine? Will his children be safe?

So, I want to know your thoughts. Have we seen the worst of it? Do you think we are taking the right steps to get the economy back on track? What would you do different if you were in charge?